....."In
the ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’, written by Shri Yoganand it is mentioned
that the disciple Shri Lahiri Mahashaya and his Guru Shri Mahavatara Baba had
striking physical similarities. In some cases even the voice and way of expression
of the Sadguru and his close disciple have been found to be similar.

Sadguru,
the Pivot of the universe ushers-in all major and important events of history
like change of rulers, wars, large scale destructions, new discoveries leading
human civilization in the path of evolution, spread and sustenance of spiritual
energy on earth through temples, churches and other groups carrying on such jobs.

Only a few evolved
souls can know as to which Master, through what method got precipitated wars,
settled peace and opened the door to new fields of knowledge to help mankind.

In
the 21st millennium, the play of the divine power will be manifesting progressively
in vaster scales and at a faster speed as the complexities of human civilization
are on the increase. The fourth human race has crossed half way in its evolution.
Now the Sadguru or the Perfect Masters are extremely busy in evolving the human
capacity to higher potentials and magnitudes to bring-in the fifth human race
with much higher potentials.

The
exploration of space, genetic engineering, discovery of sub-sub particles of atom,
unbelievable expansion of information technology, oceanic explorations, cloning
of animals, spread of occultism and Para normal experiments are indications towards
that direction. Today communication system is through the medium of electromagnetic
waves.

Tomorrow,
the fifth human race will develop the capacity to communicate through a mental
process with each other. Newer and newer energy fields will be discovered and
used by human beings. Ancient knowledge of Vedas, Yoga, Pyramids, Astrology, Vastu,
Para- psychological experiments will go on the increase. These fields of knowledge
are not given for the first time to the human race on this earth. They had been
imparted to earlier civilizations and in different planets and universes. The
information of every thing of the past is in the sky in a subtle energy form.
Only a few can explore it.

Today
the human civilization is in the thresh hold of a change. These Masters is different
points of history and at different parts of the world had given thrust and evolved
human civilizations in the past. These are the Lemurian, Atiantis, Egyptian, Roman,
Aztec, Peruvian, Maharjordaro, Aryan, Huanq-Ho civilization and many others. During
this century many lost civilizations will be discovered some of which are hidden
under the Seas.

In the history of time, past re-enacts as present as present contains the past.
Even in ancient times the Sadgurus came on this earth as the Hindu, Rishis like
Kapila, Vasistha, Suka, Vishwamitra, Bharadwaj and Dattatreya. In other countries
they came as Herrnes, Enoch and Orpheus and others. They re-incarnated as Abraham
Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Christ, Prophet Mohammad, Adi Shankara and many others
in different countries and at different times.

These
sons of God the Almighty born in groups in different parts of the human society,
taught the human race at its’ infant state its’ first lessons in sciences
and arts and gave a thrust to the progress of human civilization. They descended
on the Egyptian civilization and taught them Occult sciences, building of Pyramids,
Geometry, Alchemy etc.

Earlier
they had built the Atlantis civilization, the mother of the later civilizations,
which drowned in sea. They taught Architecture, design, mathematics, principles
warfare etc. to the mighty Roman Empire. They built the Mohenjodaro civilization
and the Aryan civilization and gave the Vedic knowledge to posterity.

When
any of these most compassionate beings descends on earth in human form, all the
Yogis, saints come to know about it through their yogic (divine) perception; it
is for His arrival that they have been praying for many lives. When large number
of human beings suffer on earth due to tyranny or misrule (Adharma as the Hindus
call it), their prayers to Almighty, forces the all-powerful divine power to descend
in human form and stabilize the forces of nature (that is establish Dharma).

All the forces of nature mirthfully welcome His coming. When Lord Krishna was
born, the saints knew that the suffering souls would be redeemed and liberated
as the Narayan Shakti (highest divine power) had descended. When Jesus was born
the three wise men from the East i.e. the three spiritual souls from India knew
and reached Bethlehem following the star that guided them.

When
Lord Budha having entered Nirvana returned to the world to relieve the suffering
humanity of their pain and bondage, nature become joyous. It is thus explained
in the book captioned “Voice of the Silence” – “all Nature
thrills with joyous awe and feels subdued. The silver star now twinkles out the
news to the night blossoms, the streamlet to the pebbles ripples out the tales;
dark ocean waves will roar to it the rocks surf-bound, scent- laden breezes sing
to its vales and stately pines mysteriously whispers -- A Master has arisen, a
Master of the Day”.

A pilgrim has returned back from the other shore.

Yes,
the Masters are coming from that shore, from the abode of the Gods out of their
infinite compassion for all of us. The nature forces on this good earth of ours
have started vibrating and tuning themselves for the advent of these mighty divine
powers. Some of them are already born and working in a quiet manner in different
corners of the earth. Their workers and disciples at various stages of spiritual
evolution are also getting ready to welcome them.

These
disciples in different places of the world are continuously praying for their
early advent. After all, during the last century the earth experienced two devastating
wars. The world today is going through a process of ‘intellect explosion’
in all fields of knowledge. Yet a lack of moral value to properly utilized the
fruits of intellect for the greatest good of the greatest numbers on this earth
in the biggest limitation.

It
is these Masters who will redefine religions codes and re-establish moral values
on earth. Human beings, in future will certainly communicate through mental process
and discover those powers, which today are known as occult power of ‘Sidhis’.
Sidhi (occult power) is nothing but a principle of nature yet undiscovered by
the present human race. When the masters will teach the principles of governing
these unexplored laws of natures, new vistas of knowledge will open up before
the human race.".......

Q & A

What
is the actual meaning of the word ‘Samarpan’?

'Samarpan’
means to offer in the equal form. Whatever we will offer to the God, He gives
us in accordance with the same. This means, to offer our self to the God and Guru
in the same way, and this offering is at the level of thoughts.

‘Bhavatmak
Samarpan’ means – when the Guru offers pure thoughts even when trying
to remove our sufferings, do we offer pure thoughts to Him while doing the work
assigned by the Guru. God gives pure thoughts ‘Shudha Bhava’ and wants
pure thoughts. If this is not there then it is only a prayer – for fulfilment
of certain needs.

In Baba’s aarti there is a line : ‘Jaya mana jaisa bhav taya taisa
anubhjav’ - the way a person thinks he feels the same way. With whatever
feeling we offer we should receive with the same purity. Some people think that
offering coconut and clothes etc. is also a ‘Bhavarpan’.

But it is not like this, because the Guru doesn’t accepts these physical
offerings but He accepts the ‘Bhava’ or intention with which it is
offered. While trying to offer, if the intention goes wrong then it becomes unacceptable.

If
you want to ask any spiritual questions from Shri C. B. Satpathyji, please mail
at mayianswer@gmail.com

FROM "LIFE OF SAI BABA" BY NARASIMHA SWAMI

……“We
have already noted that the Guru has to be treated as not in the least different
from God but as identical with God on the authority of the Upanishads and numerous
other works. A proper sishya must have therefore ‘para bhakti’ and
‘Dridha sauhruda’, i.e., strong devotion and attachment to his Guru.

This means ‘There is nothing higher than the Guru. This is God; this is
unique; this is known and experienced’. By meditation on God – Guru,
jnana dawns upon the pupil (Guru Gita, verse 125). The Guru Upadishta Marga, i.e.,
the direction of the Guru has, of course, to be strictly followed for purifying
the heart.

The
ever changing phenomena are fleeting and unworthy of attachment. Hence turn the
mind away from them on to the real Brahman. This advice of the Guru must be followed.
Peace of mind follows by Guru’s grace. The numerous directions in the Guru
Gita as to the propriety of behaviour follow from the above attitude and relationship.

The conduct rules
are as follows:- (1) A sishya should not and can never be blaming his Guru (ninda),
should not feel pride (mamata) envy (asuya), jealousy (matsara), hatred (dvesha),
contempt or entertain any similar feeling towards the Guru; of course, he cannot
threaten the Guru (Humkar), not treat himself as equal.

But
on the other hand he must fall at the Guru's feet, drink the (Padatirtha) water
washing the Guru's feet and always think of the Guru as long as his body lasts.
(2) Guru is the “Sathee Akaraka” i.e. last moment helper i.e., the
one person or force that can help to save the sishya at the moment of his death
and make that end happy, which wife, children, wealth, fame, etc., cannot positively
do, which in fact they render painful.

If
the Guru has been rejected or forgotten, then at the last critical moment, the
sishya’s mind will be greatly perturbed and agitated or frightened. (3)
The Guru’s orders must be strictly obeyed and carried out personally and
not delegated to others. Nothing should be done without consulting the Guru.”......

ARTICLE

BABA’S
TRUE SOLDIER

Shri Satpathyji, popularly known as Guruji, often says that there are devotees
galore for Shri Sai but the true servants are really a few indeed. Left to himself
he wants to remain as just a servant of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba. One such great servant
who in a way marched ahead as a true soldier for Shirdi Sai Baba is Shri P P Srivatsavji
of Allahabad.

It
is about one year since he left his body and though he is not amidst us, still
all those people who have come in contact with him know the significant contribution
he had made to the ever growing Shri Sai Movement. Inspired by Shri Satpathyji,
he carried on relentlessly leaving the stamp of a true surrendered soul in the
minds of devotees.

Since his departure for the heavenly abode, I have had a strong urge to share
a few things about this great soul and so I am writing this article based on some
of my thoughts and experiences. It was towards the end of 2000 that we came to
know about Shri PP Srivatsavji.

During
2001 Mahakumbh Mela, a huge camp of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba was organized on the
bank of the Ganges. Shri Satpathyji inspired him to organize a camp for the first
time during Ardh Kumbh Mela in Jan 1995. Mahakumbh 2001 camp was the second one
that he organized. But the difference is in the magnitude as the one that was
set up in 2001 was a massive one, accommodating hundreds of devotees. Separate
tents were set up for most of the states and a team of 25 people from Andhra was
accommodated in one such tent.

Our First Experience:

A team of 25 devotees from different parts of AP traveled to Varanasi and from
there to Allahabad. We hired three big vehicles from Varanasi and started around
4.00 P.M. Those days we did not have mobile phones and all that we had with us
was the address of the camp and phone numbers of Srivatsavji and the one set up
in the camp.

It
was late evening when we finally landed at the mela site. We were told that mela
the site is spread over 10 square kilometres. As we entered the zone, we started
asking people to guide us to the Shirdi Sai Camp. It was getting late and all
the people whom we asked seemed to be unfamiliar with the exact location of the
camp. Finally we called the camp office from a PCO booth and made them talk to
the people around.

Though
they nodded their head while talking to our people at the camp, they were not
clear about the exact location of the camp. We started moving ahead with some
clues. But then all of a sudden a thick fog started enveloping the whole area
and within no time it became virtually impossible to sight an object which was
even 6 or 7 feet away from us. Imagine our plight - three vehicles in a row moving
in a directionless manner without mobile phones.

As
it became difficult to move even an inch further, I got down praying Baba to take
care of us. I walked barely a few steps and asked someone standing there to guide
us to Shirdi Sai Camp. Out came the joyous response from him. He replied, this
itself is the camp site. Our joy knew no bounds and fortunately all the vehicles
remained one behind the other and we slowly moved every one into the camp. It
was a big relief for all of us. Baba had to come to our rescue when we virtually
became blindfolded.

The next morning, I think 12th Jan 2001, the camp was about to be formally inaugurated
by Shri Satpathyji. For the first time we had the good fortune of meeting Srivatsavji
on that day. In the morning there was a brief havan, and later Noon Arti followed.
It was a different atmosphere as people came from different parts of the country
and were seen exchanging pleasantries. In the evening after Sandhya Arti, Srivatsavji
formally addressed the gathering. While stressing how he has been inspired by
Shri Satpathyji to spread Shirdi Sai Baba’s glory, he shared one of his
own experiences.

In his words: “One day I visited a hospital in Noida, UP, to get examined
for a kidney problem. After carrying out all the tests the doctors said that my
kidneys have failed totally and transplantation had to be done immediately. The
news made me feel disheartened and I told my wife that I don’t want to undergo
this and Shri Sai should save me somehow.

I
told her, if Sai doesn’t save me from this, then you better sell all those
things that we bought for His works and enjoy life. It was around that time Shri
Satpathyji came to the hospital and I told him my inner feeling that I am not
prepared for kidney transplant surgery. He smiled at me and said don’t worry,
Baba will take care of you and the surgery will not be needed for you.

I at once became confident and asked the doctors to take a fresh look and decide
whether surgery is required. Doctors unwillingly carried out the tests again and
much to their amazement they found results suggesting that transplantation need
not be done immediately. Then they asked me to take some medicines and report
for a checkup after a month.

When
I reported accordingly, the functioning of my kidneys had substantially improved
and the doctors were again amazed to see the results. Later they asked me to come
for a checkup after three months and finally when I went there they said no surgery
was required and my kidneys are alright.

Then
they kept the photo of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba in the Hospital and started telling
the patients that I was miraculously cured by His divine grace and suggested them
also to pray to Him. It is indeed His grace that I am like this today” All
the devotees who assembled there listened to Srivatsavji’s experience with
rapt attention. We felt really blessed to be there in the holy company of such
a great soul.

The camp got underway and the devotees involved themselves in various activities
and it was like one big Sai family out there. It was Srivatsavji who meticulously
looked into each and every thing. He saw to it that every devotee was comfortably
placed in the camp. He and his family members have rendered such amazing services
and provided memorable moments to all of us.

Apart
from the personal warmth with which they greeted everyone, they in a way unmindful
of their position and other things, virtually did everything. One morning when
I came out of our tent, I saw the couple cleaning the utensils. Can we imagine
a person of his stature, a leading advocate in the famous Allahabad High Court
and who acted as the Additional Advocate General doing such an act? But this is
what we witnessed. It was an eye opener to normal people like us.

Finally
when the time came to depart from the camp after being there for about a week,
Srivatsavji walked into our tent and gently requested us to stay back for some
more time. He promised that all return tickets would be taken care of and we did
not need to worry about anything. His kind gesture at that time took us completely
by surprise.

Since
in our group we had different kinds of people, some Government servants, some
business people, we found it difficult to extend our stay and stated our practical
problems to him. Having understood our situation, he requested us to visit his
house and spend some time before going to the Railway station.

Wonderful Moments:

On the night of our departure, some of us visited his house and spent couple of
hours. With so much of love and affection, he shared many things and talked about
how Guru continuously provides help to his disciples. I am reminded of two wonderful
experiences he shared that night.

1. In his words: “One day I had some urgent work in Gorakhpur and at any
cost I had to be present in the court over there. I started my journey by road
and midway, the driver stopped the car and said that the brakes have failed. I
told him we needed to proceed and reach Gorakhpur quickly. Much to my surprise,
the driver came out of the car and handed over the keys saying that he can’t
risk his life.

I
told him fine and gave money to him to go back to Allahabad. Then I got into the
driving seat and started driving the car. Everything seemed to be so perfect and
there was no problem with the brakes. I completed my work and got back to Allahabad
without any difficulty. Next morning the driver came and when I told him everything
was alright, he couldn’t believe it. He took the car out and found brake
failure again.

When
I drove the car out everything was okay and when others did so the brake problem
would surface. I kept the car in that condition for a few months and finally got
it repaired. Why Baba played His divine sport like this, He only knows! But it
was real blissful moments that I experienced through this incident”.

2.
In his words: “One day a close friend of mine came to me and asked me a
straight forward question. Srivatsav, you are a staunch devotee of Baba and have
been talking about Baba’s divine grace. Now a friend of mine is in hospital
and his days are numbered.

He
is down with Leukemia and the doctors said that he would survive for about 20
days at the most. Seeing his pathetic condition, I became restless and thought
probably through some divine intervention he could be saved. Can’t your
Baba save this soul? Then I told him, if Baba wants then anything can happen.

I told him not
to get disheartened and wait with patience. After he left I prayed to Sai fervently
to do something and it was then I thought about the Udi (sacred ash) which was
given by Shri Satpathyji one day in his pooja room. While giving it to me, he
told me to use it under SOS situations. Immediately I visited the hospital and
applied the Udi on the forehead of the patient.

I
kept one picture of Baba’s photo under his pillow and returned home. After
I did like this, the patient started improving miraculously day by day and finally
when the 20th day arrived, instead of leaving the body, he became normal and when
tests were carried out, the doctors much to their surprise found no trace of Leukemia”.
While sharing these experiences his face was lit up and we could clearly sense
his inner feelings.

After spending these wonderful and memorable moments with him we got back to our
respective places but the divine hangover remained till our next visit to Allahabad
in the year 2004.

Sai Temple Inauguration:

With the grace of Shri Sai Baba, we again had the good fortune of visiting Allahabad
in the month of January, 2004. This time the purpose was to attend the inauguration
of the newly built Sai Mandir at 10, Thornhill Road, near the Allahabad High Court.
Again it was Srivatsavji all the way.

The
temple came up so nicely. But the interesting fact is the way he got the works
completed before the arrival of Shri Satpathyji. In fact we reached two days before
Pran Pratishtha as we had direct train only twice a week from Tirupati. It was
a cold winter with fog all over.

When
we reached the temple we found most of the works still being attended to. There
were so many teams of marble and granite layers who came from different places
to complete the work. Since Satpathyji gave him short notice for Pran Pratishtha
preparations, he had no option but to engage more people and work day and night.
Braving the cold winter, he remained most of the time at the temple site supervising
all the works.

Somehow
by the grace of Baba, he could finish everything by the time Shri Satpathyji arrived.
We also spent good amount of time with him for two days and in the process met
some of his close friends. They have told us in one voice that Srivatsavji’s
working style is like that of a Thoofan (Cyclone). He gets things done so swiftly
much to the amazement of others, they commented gleefully. This is another quality
of this great soul that we have experienced during this visit.

Ardh Kumbh Mela 2007:

Yet, another occasion cropped up for the devotees of Shri Sai to assemble at Allahabad
for the Ardh Kumbh Mela in Jan 2007. Shri Satpathyji made it a regular feature
to run Baba’s camps during such occasions. As usual Srivatsavji made elaborate
arrangements and ensured that all the devotees had a comfortable stay over there.
Baba’s four Artis, Bhajans, Naamjap, discourses by Satpathyji and Narayan
seva took place on all the days.

This
time a test was conducted as part of the camp wherein questions from ‘Shri
Sai Satcharithra’ and ‘Sai Artis’ were administered. Devotees
were made to feel where they stand with respect to the two important things connected
with Sai Baba. Again we spent good quality time in the camp and returned with
pleasant memories.

From all that is narrated above, one could imagine that Srivatsavji is a really
great soul with complete commitment to Baba. His munificence, dedication, sincerity,
willingness to serve, humble nature and above all his unflinching loyalty to Satpathyji
is unquestionable indeed. But mark the following lines and reflect silently to
understand what real surrender means.

Lifetime Experience for Devotees:

As I type the following lines, I can feel the palpitation of my heart, formation
and gentle sliding of the tears down the cheeks while remembering this unbelievable
incident. Mind you, I have not seen it directly, but heard about it a few times
and want to share this with Baba’s devotees. “Shri P P Srivatsavji’s
elder son played an active part in the establishment of the first camp that was
set up under the spiritual guidance of Shri Satpathyji during Ardh Kumbh mela,
1995 at Allahabad.

At
a prime age when he was ready to get married, all of a sudden he had to leave
the physical body. He was so attached to Shri Satpathyji. A few months before
his sudden departure to the heavenly abode, Shri Satpathyji visited Allahabad
and much to others disbelief, he cried profusely embracing Shri Satpathyji. At
that time no one could understand why he did so.

But
unfortunately barely a few months later he faced an untimely death. On the day
of his death, Shri Satpathyji was there in Allahabad and when he visited the house
of Srivatsavji, it was a heart moving scene. People were sobbing loudly and Srivatsavji
was sitting next to the body of the boy holding his head in his lap. One can clearly
imagine the plight of the family.

This
unexpected death shook all of them completely. In their house they have a small
Baba’s mandir where they perform all the four Artis. Shri Satpathyji looking
at the clock said that it is Baba’s noon arti time and asked as to who would
do that? Much to the bewilderment of people around, Srivatsavji himself got up
and said that he would perform Baba’s Arti”.

Can
you believe this? Just imagine! This is not a story but it is a fact. Shri Satpathyji
often takes the example of Srivatsavji and says that he is the shining example
of what true surrender is!

We have a tendency to blame Baba/God/Guru, when a small thing that we think of
doesn’t happen in the desired manner. For most parents children mean everything
and they would go out of the way to make them happy. When some small thing happens
to our children, we make a big hue and cry, but see what Srivatsavji did?

His
young son suddenly expired but still his faith in Shirdi Sai Baba remained unshaken.
He performed Arti when people were wailing loudly embracing the dead body of his
son. Is it true surrender or much more than it only Sai knows? We have to consider
ourselves really fortunate to have come to know of this incident.

This is truly a life time experience for all of us. Srivatsavji marched on the
path of Shri Sai like a true soldier and would remain in the hearts of Baba’
devotees as Baba’s true soldier. I salute that great soul from the bottom
of my heart.

Recently I had the good fortune of attending Baba’s Pran Pratishtha at Lakhimpurkiri
in Uttar Pradesh. Srivatsavji’s younger son Shisir also attended the event.
When I met him there I was remembering his father most of the time. In fact Shisir’s
mannerisms and his physique instantaneously remind us the great P P Srivatsavji.

May Shri Sai
take care of his family members and give the needed strength to them to march
ahead firmly on the Sai path. Bow to Shri Sai, Peace be to All.

There have been instances in everyone's life
when Sai Baba made His presence felt. Although I am living in USA, seven seas
away from Shirdi, I have experienced His presence. The incident occurred while
I was appearing for an important exam that was very difficult.

I kept on forgetting everything that I had read about the day before. The entire
situation made me feel helpless as my mind was blank. Suddenly, I just remembered
that someone had mentioned to me that taking Baba's name during difficult situations
helps remove all obstacles.

All
you need to do is to close your eyes and take Sai Baba's name. I thought of trying
this out and the moment I closed my eyes I saw a face forming in front of me which
was distinctly that of Sai Baba's. I relaxed a little. I slowly opened my eyes
and then when I tried answering the questions everything somehow started to pop
up in my brain.

The results came and the score was excellent. Sometimes when I hear elder people
say that today's generation has lost all faith and they no more believe in God
I just have one thing to say - Have they ever looked into our hearts and seen
the place where our God resides? There are many like me who firmly believe in
God.

Every morning,
I make it a rule to read a quotation from Sai Baba's Calendar and in the whole
month that you read the same quote every day, somehow it gets deep inside you
and you start practicing His preachings. One of those quotes that has deeply affected
me is that

"Conquer
the Mind and you will Conquer the World."

In short, control your anger, your greed, your impatience and you will automatically
control everything in the world. This has influenced me to keep my anger in control
because as Baba says, those who are made to be evil will be evil but does that
mean even you should react to them with evil ways.

If
people treat you with hatred, treat them with Love and it will bring a change
in their hearts, transforming them into human beings worthy of a place in the
heavens.

"You need not go far or anywhere in search of Me. Barring your
name and form, there exists in you, as well as in all beings, a sense of Being
or Consciousness of Existence. That is Myself. Knowing this, you see Me inside
yourself, as well as in all beings. If you practise this, you will realize all-pervasiveness,
and thus attain oneness with Me." - Shirdi Sai Baba.

Visual perception is the way a man associates reality so man goes by “seeing
is believing” concept. Is it possible for such a man to associate energy
and intangible power with God? Hindu scriptures such as Ramayana and Mahabharata
talk about men, possessing divine powers, and respected for their knowledge and
worshiped for the same.

Perhaps
Valmiki and Vyasa knew that man’s spiritual progression would be restricted
due to his cognitive limitations, hence they described god in a way man can relate
to and thus progress spiritually. Worship of parents and guru is an age old tradition
followed in India, however currently because of misplaced values and obsession
with money, power and greed, and vices overtaking human virtues, worship is restricted
to stone idols of Gods placed in temples alone.

Worship of Gods in temples is encouraged as it builds discipline and gradually
draws man out of his limitations helping to realise the formless concept of God.
Scriptures say that man is divine, however this raises one question, if man is
divine why is there chaos, discord, war, ill feeling and hatred in this world?
Again our scriptures explain that, man though divine, is engulfed in the illusion
of this world, which Baba calls “maya”.

Man
limits his existence only to the present and forgets his true nature due to his
previous actions or karma. When man meets a guru or a learned person, the guru
can help him to see within himself by removing the web of illusion or misunderstanding
surrounding his existence and help him rediscover his divinity. When man discovers
his true “self” then that man is said to be divine and is worshiped
as God.

Baba,
Param Sadguru, walked this earth to help man’s endeavour with self-realisation.
Mystery surrounds Shirdi Sai Baba and even to this day we do not know His religion,
caste, birth or parentage. Baba lived like an ordinary man, yet He showed miracles
which are beyond human understanding. He cured the lame, gave sight to the blind,
gave solutions to the problems of people and knew their past, present and future.

People realised
His divinity and started worshiping Him. Since then there has been no looking
back and now Sai-ism has spread all over the world. Baba had powers due to His
perfection, and if He wished, He would have lived the life of a king. But He begged
His meal daily and wore torn cloths on His body. May be it was His love for people
and eagerness to help them overcome the shackles of their worldly existence and
to rise to the state of godhood that prompted Him to live the life of a commoner,
so that people could relate to Him.

Baba took every opportunity to highlight the importance of human birth. Once Baba
had a lengthy discussion with Nanasaheb Chandorkar on Bhagavadgita and Baba said
that man is blinded with ignorance or ajnana and thinks himself to be different
from God, and that body is absolute. Only a learned guru will be able to teach
the man that God, world, body and soul are inter-related and help him realise
God vision.

Hemandpant
mentions that Gods envy to be born as man, as he is endowed with capacity to acquire
knowledge, overcome illusion and discriminate between the unreal and the real
to attain God-vision. Baba said “He who thus comes to Me, becomes one with
Me, just as a river gets to the sea and becomes merged (one) with it. So leaving
out pride and egoism and with no trace of them, you should surrender yourself
to Me Who am seated in your heart."

Shri Ramakrishna Parmahamsa and Ramana Maharshi, are men who realised God in their
heart as Baba mentioned. They were normal humans, suffered and yet overcame their
illnesses as they cared not for their physical self. They realised that body was
transient and what mattered was the inner self.

They
showed the way to the people to let them know that the troubles are transient
and the body rots and decays but the atman is eternal and lives beyond time. In
Meher Baba’s words “… when eventually man consciously experiences
that he is Infinite, Eternal and Indivisible, then he is fully conscious of his
individuality as God, and as such experiences Infinite Knowledge, Infinite Power
and Infinite Bliss.

Thus
Man becomes God, and is recognized as a Perfect Master, Sadguru, or Qutub. To
worship this Man is to worship God” there is no doubt that they are men
of God.

Shri
Sai Satcharita is full of incidents which highlight the importance of human birth,
alas being ignorant as we are; we fail to understand the reason behind teachings.
May be we need to step back and reflect on Shri Satpathyji’s question “Are
you in the right path”? As Baba said “mere reading is no use, one
must practice what is read”.

We
have to analyse and ask ourselves - Was Baba meaning to say that man can progress
spiritually only when he can respect other human being? Can we behold God with
the eyes that cannot see good in fellow humans? Perhaps Baba wants to tell us
that when one cannot respect and worship parents and money means everything, is
such individual fit to worship God? Will God accept our prayers when we abuse,
neglect and ill treat our parents, children, in-laws, neighbours or for that matter
another human being in need? Will God accept our lavish gifts and money earned
through improper means or when we do not give anything in charity and hoard things?

What use is building
temples when the purpose behind such act is to gain power, fame, contacts and
money? Will God be pleased? Let us remember we may cheat others but not God. It
is time for us to change our thinking and leave pettiness and acknowledge that
we are divine in spite of our imperfections. Baba assured that He lives in all
living and non living things. This is enough to highlight the divinity in man.

It is our good
fortune to be born as humans so let us behave as one, only then we can get closer
to Baba. We need to worship Baba who resides in every human and rise above man
made differences. Service to man is service to God, so said lord Krishna, and
such service starts at home and in our neighbourhood. Baba demonstrated this by
serving Jawahar Ali, who professed to be a Guru. Following Guru’s teaching
is the best tribute one can pay to a Guru.

"Whenever there is decline in righteousness and rise in unrighteousness,
O Bharata, then I send forth Myself. For the protection of the good and the destruction
of the evil and the establishment of righteousness, I come into being from age
to age" said Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (IV. 7-8).

Sadgurus
or Perfect Masters are in reality, the seers who have realized the Absolute or
have reached the highest realm of spiritual attainment, are present forever in
the whole universe whether in an embodied or in an un-embodied state. They can
operate in gross, subtle or mental world. They have been actually chosen to execute
the Divine Mission and for that, free from individual ego, work together for the
execution of the Divine Mission.

A
Sadguru is the one who leads the created to the creator. Their actions are universal
in nature cutting across religions, nations and all divisions of society. In fact
the descent of the Divine in human form is to create conditions for the human
to ascend to his Divine essence. Everything that happens is but the expression
of the Divine Will and the descent of the Divine energy and the ascent of the
human aspiration are mutually complementary.

"I
bow to him the Sadguru who is the embodiment of the bliss of Brahman, the bestower
of Supreme happiness, the absolute, and the personification of pure knowledge,
who is beyond duality (as pleasure and pain). He is all pervasive like the sky.
He is the final goal of the Vedic dictum "Thou art that!" He is one
eternal. Pure, steadfast and the witness of all thoughts; abiding ever beyond
all modifications of mind and body and attributes of the three gunas - Raja, tama
and sattva (all the three qualities of passion, ignorance and excellence).

Sadgurus
such as Sai Baba are infinite existence, infinite knowledge and infinite bliss.
The form of Guru is the root of meditation. The feet of the Guru are the root
of worship. The teaching of the Guru is the root of all hymns. The Grace of the
Guru is the root of salvation. The Sadgurus or perfect masters are born at different
times in different places and with different cultural backgrounds. Strangely enough
their external situations may be widely variant but their actions in their embodied
stages display a common theme and common approach to solve the human problems.

N
K Srinivasan

The following three chants can be added to Lord Sainath's wonderful chants:
Sai Loves you Sai Protects You Sai Guides you Let us spread the message
of Sai's love for us...If he didn't love us, He would have gone to a forest or
cave in the Himalayas and lived in kutir, not in Shirdi amidst so many ordinary
people like us! In Sai Smaran.

Thank you for always sending me the newsletter Sai Heritage E-zine. It is truly
food for the soul to be in constant touch with good thoughts and words. Wishing
you Sai's everlasting grace in the noble work being carried out!

Dr.
Sayeed Ahmad

Heartiest
Congratulations for great success for your most valuable Magazine which is now
in ninth year and it is a great service to Sai lovers too. Sai will bless you
those who are involved in bringing out this magazine for the benefit of Sai Bhakts
(followers).

With the
blessings and grace of Shri Shirdi Sai , the first ever online Shirdi Sai baba
radio will be broadcasting,- leela's of Baba thru His bhajans in Hindi, Telugu,
Marathi and Gujrati, Sai Mahima , Sai amritwani, Sai mantra ,Sai Satcharitra prayaan
,discourses ,Geeta Gyan , Vishnu Sahasaram and much much more. I will be hosting
it from this thursday. I will also be sharing my experiences and experiences of
other Sai devotees thru this media.

This
is the first ever online radio dedicated to the lotus feet of Shri Shirdi Sai
baba. Just by listening to this radio, Sai devotees will feel the bliss of Baba
and His leela's around them. You can go to http://debu7366.blogspot.com/
to listen to this radio [ password- omsrisai ]or for knowing the weekly program
guide and to post your request, suggestions ,feedback and comments- plz visit
http://sairadio.blogspot.com/
. You will also find a lot of important information at this site in the coming
weeks.

Shri
Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan, Canada, (Toronto) cordially invite Devotees to attend
- volunteer - Receive Baba's Grace and be Immersed in Divine Bliss on the AUSPICIOUS
day of THURSDAY 6:30PM at the GUR MANDIR 207 Queen's Plate Drive., Etobicoke (South
of Steeles on the East side of Highway 27 on Queen's Plate). Invocation Ceremony
of Baba's Divine Blessings will be conducted with Sacred Ashtotra Namavali to
the accompaniment of Bhajans, Satcharita Paraayan, Naivedaya Offerings Dhoop Aarti
and Mahaprasaad (Preeti Bhoj) Devotees are welcome to bring a dish for Naivedaya
Offerings as inspired by Baba. Details at www.shirdisainath.org

By
the grace of our Shirdi Sai we are happy to announce the inauguration of Shri
Shirdi Sai Temple in LA region in the city of Montebello. We need the support
of all Sai Devotees. For more information please email krishna@shirdisaila.org

The North America Shirdi
Sai Temple is located at 700 James Burgess Road,Suwanee GA 30024.Temple is open
all seven days of the week. Baba's Kakad Aarti, Abhishek Puja, Madhyan Aarti,
Dhoop Aarti and Shej Aarti are performed every day. Bhajans are sung on all thursday
and sunday evenings. For information regarding the daily schedule, temple activities
and events please visit Mandir's website: www.templeofpeace.org
or call 678-455-7200

We are a community of Shirdi Sai Baba devotees serving the Boston area and beyond
in the New England region on the east coast of USA. With His infinite blessings
we have started Shirdi Sai temple in a leased hall at the Sadhu Vaswani Center.
We are grateful to all the devotees for their kind support which has made this
possible.

This
is to inform all of you that we have a Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Malaysia. Here
we have daily prayers and special prayers on thursday mornings 9.00am and bhajans
and satsang from 8 pm onwards. Also breakfast, lunch and dinner, cooked by our
seva-group is provided to all devotees. other than that first thursday of the
month we have talk on spirituality, second thursday on health, third thursday
satsang on Sai Satcharitra, fourth thursday talk on general topics, by experts
in the respective fields. Lot of charitable activities are conducted by our Centre,like
sponsoring immediate services to childrens\' homes, old-folks homes, sick and
needy, etc. etc.

The
dream of having a full fledged exclusive Shirdi Sai Temple in Singapore, will
soon come true. Thanks to the efforts of a Sai devotee in making this happen.
The Shirdi Sai Baba Centre in Singapore is now live with the 3rd floor function
hall, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman temple, being secured and converted to a full
fledged exclusive Shirdi Sai worship centre. The Centre will be devoted to celebrating
the life & teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba only. For more information visit our
website http://www.saisansthan.com/

You may have given many different gifts to your
friends and loved ones, but giving a subscription of "Heritage of Shirdi Sai"
magazine would be a unique gift as it connects the people you love with SADGURU
SHIRDI SAI and brings His blessings with the gift.

Topic of Discussion feature is
intended to initiate useful discussions on topics related to Shirdi Sai Philosophy
and His teachings, Guru Tradition, Teachings of the Sadguru, the nature and
functions of the Perfect Masters, true devotion, qualification of a disciple,
etc.

TOPIC OF DISCUSSION: PAIN
AND PLEASURE ARE LIKE TWINS, ALWAYS ENTWINED

Send your poem, article or drawing on SHIRDI SAI
BABA and the best ones will be showcased in Heritage of Shirdi Sai Magazine and
in the Children section on our website. Anybody upto 18 years of age can send
in the material.

In order to ensure that Heritage Of
Shirdi Sai sustains itself and is available to devotees at affordable rates, we
do solicit advertisements. However, in keeping with the magazine’s philosophy
and approach, the advertisements would be displayed as banners and not creative
commercial product.